NIXY72
Are you still here? It's been a while since you've updated your status or since I've seen you around... Hopefully you're just lurking and quietly still chasing your own goals but in case you're not, please remember:

People disappear for all sorts of reasons. Life gets in the way, we forget or change our views on what we deem is important, we get buried under stress, frustration, illness. We sometimes give up, throw in the towel, or just promise ourselves that once things get better/easier/calmer, we will hitch up our socks and come back fresh. We've all done it. We've all been there. And if perhaps, you just need a supportive hug, or a helping hand or a word of inspiration, please know that I am offering it to you with no judgment, no guilt. It seems like it's been a while since you've been here and I just wanted to let you know that you are missed.

“You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” –A.A. Milne

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.” -Mary Anne Radmacher

“All our dreams can come true – if we have the courage to pursue them.” –Walt Disney

If you are in need of a little realistic motivation, please, please read my blog post "Letting Go of Expectations". It helped me tremendously just writing it and hopefully it will pass on some inspiration to you as well. :) www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal_individual.asp?blog_id=48536921684 days ago

This coming Tuesday, May 1st, is the celebration of May Day. This day has been adopted several times over for different purposes and may be called by different names so no matter what you celebrate;

May you find happiness and health May you receive help when you need it May you laugh every day May you find and keep love May you feel light and inspired May you be respected and valued May your wishes come true May you be a bright and shining fire to others May you experience beauty and bliss May you be nourished and cherished May you look in the mirror and find no faults, no insecurities, and no fears, for you are beautiful and confident, strong and brave.

The History of May Day:

"Etymologically, [May Day] is a homophone (same sounding word) for the international call for help. It is a corruption of the French imperative “M’aidez” meaning “Help me!” As a holiday it is claimed by many. It is known in the pagan world as Beltane, a fertility celebration... Beltane is the day of fire commemorating Bel or Belenos, the Celtic sun god. Indeed, in the modern Irish language, Bealtaine is the name for the month of May. The early Anglo-Saxons began their celebration on the eve before, feasting the end of winter and the first planting. It was a time of revelry and abandon... But this day’s celebration of the revival of vegetation goes back to the Roman practice of visiting the grotto of Egena. The people of ancient Rome honored Flora, the goddess of flowers and springtime.

"...In America: The Puritans frowned on May Day, so the day has never been celebrated with as much enthusiasm in the United States... But the tradition of celebrating May Day by dancing and singing around a maypole, tied with colorful streamers or ribbons, survived as a part of the English tradition. The kids celebrating the day by moving back and forth around the pole with the the streamers, choosing of May queen, and hanging of May baskets on the doorknobs of folks -- are all the leftovers of the old European traditions."

"In 1886 it was co-opted as an international workers day to celebrate the 8-hour workday movement, following national strikes in the US and Canada. Later, the French declared May 1 the International Working Men’s Association holiday in 1889."

History information gleaned from: theholidayspot.com/mayday/history.htm and www.billpetro.com1686 days ago